I now know what it is like to live in a house that is being renovated and where all the furniture, paintings, bath room accessories, my museum (3 large display cabinets, golf club and tennis display sets, etc. has been placed upstairs where I have to live, eat, sleep and shower, etc.

Plus I am sharing this with 3 beagles. And the dust from the plastering of all last week is piling up and the vacuum system is not working but I am dusting and dusting and dusting.

I leave on the 17th to drive back to Southampton and then the Mrs. will fly down here to continue her supervision and hopefully completing the floors, painting, installation of all the furniture that is store upstairs or in the garage. I am figuring a good 6 more months. Just in time for summer.

According to a February report in the Washington Post, Steele "reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work."

...

In the end, according to reports, the FBI did not pay Steele. But the dossier did not go away. Indeed, in January 2017, Comey briefed President-elect Trump (and President Obama) on the dossier's contents.

Of course, Judge Napolitano reported on this as well, but he's not as solid as York, and York should know that the WaPo is far from solid.

One of my memories from living in Icecland and Newfoundland as a young kid was the trips to the coast or the cliffs to picnic and watch the Icebergs come by. It was always late spring or summer. My school in St. John's was Saint Bonaventure and the brothers made a day trip up to Marconi hill to watch them come by and explain to us how the form and how they birth and the currents that propel them. Not too far away was the monster who took out the Titanic.

Actually, it started in late April 2014 when we tore out the old Laundry and some wall that needed to be taken out for the kitchen. Hey, but once you are getting it on then go all the way.

Funny story, I blame Frederick. He told us on our trip up to Southampton for the summer that wouldn't it be neat if he could start school in Southampton after Labor Day and then in January switch to Florida which gets out in late May versu Southampton in late June:)

Thinking about Mrs. thought it was a great idea and she could get more done in Florida. Its all his fault:)

The former British spy who authored a controversial dossier on behalf of Donald Trump’s political opponents alleging ties between Trump and Russia reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work, according to several people familiar with the arrangement.

The agreement to compensate former MI6 agent Christopher Steele came as U.S. intelligence agencies reached a consensus that the Russians had interfered in the presidential election by orchestrating hacks of Democratic Party email accounts.

While Trump has derided the dossier as “fake news” compiled by his political opponents, the FBI’s arrangement with Steele shows that the bureau considered him credible and found his information, while unproved, to be worthy of further investigation.

Ultimately, the FBI did not pay Steele. Communications between the bureau and the former spy were interrupted as Steele’s now-famous dossier became the subject of news stories, congressional inquiries and presidential denials, according to the people familiar with the arrangement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Canada’s Trudeau government is forcing pro-life groups to say they support abortion in order to access a federal summer jobs program.

As the National Post reports, a pro-life group in Toronto is taking the federal government to court over the policy, saying their right to respect the rights of the unborn are being squashed by the Liberal government’s insistence that they support “reproductive rights” if they wish to apply for a grant to hire summer students.

Groups applying for the Canada Summer Jobs program must now answer “yes” to the question of whether their group supports “individual human rights” — except for the Trudeau government those human rights include abortion.

“The government recognizes that women’s rights are human rights,” the application form states. This includes sexual and reproductive rights — and the right to access safe and legal abortions.”

I read all the books, have all the post publishing reference books, maps, glossaries and such. Did not get that feeling reading them but then I am immune to outright agressive SJW intrusions.

Like Melville, there is a lot of minutae and detail about the subject, in this case, the sea, arms and men in the Napolionic period. it was so overwhelming I probably mised all the hidden messages. Now, I have to go back and read them all again.

There were many years when I was a LIV, so it's highly possible that it's been done before--but has any president ever gathered the leaders in Congress and in his administration together in one place and mapped out a strategy for what they want to accomplish in the coming year?

This is very much a CEO type thing to do. Set goals and priorities and a rough roadmap of how you plan to achieve them.

Also, JiB, I think he' finally got the GOPe on board with his agenda. (Pence and Scalise had this look of . . . I don't know--a mixture of pride and awe, maybe?--on their faces while he was speaking.) After years of letting themselves get kicked in the teeth by the Dems and the MSM, they're finally winning and I think they like the feeling.

First he changed the party during the election by realigning the electorate. and now he's changing the party leadership--by showing them how to play the game to win. That's what a great leader does. As Scott Adams so rightly put it. He gets people to imagine the impossible.

Aubrey-Maturin going SJW in the later books - yes, I can see it a little. The later books certainly aren't as good as the earlier ones. I think O'Brian was attempting to make up for personal failings, and getting a bit soft.

Good evening! Hubby and his cousin golfed today. Despite the cool temps,they saw five "cute" baby gators enjoying the sun on the edge of a pond.
An 18 year old Greek Orthodox man found the Epiphany cross in the annual dive at Tarpon Springs. The 67 men were allowed to wear wet suits this year.

Decades ago, I learned a fundamental property of politics ... politicians don’t like to be made to feel powerless. Back then, the new threat ... voice stress analysis. The idea that a machine could listen to anybody’s voice and tell you they are lying, terrified politicians. In my state, they banned it’s use.
Today, the idea that some psychologist or psychiatrist could cause a politician to be removed from office is just as terrifying.

While waiting for jury duty, I once got to watch a guy get committed to a mental hospital. His crime ? He had an alternative theory to the Kennedy assasination and had attempted to contact a US Senator. What was amazing was just how easy it looked to send this poor soul to a mental hospital.

The Democrats have got to remember that the slippery slope only goes one direction. If they even try to go the “mental route”, whether they manage to remove Trump or not, they open the door to their own demise.

Right now, there are more wacky mental cases on Capitol Hill than there ever will be in the White House. Maxine Waters comes to mind immediately, but there are enough wackos in the Democratic caucus to fill at least a full sized school bus.

Not for everyone.
If GUS is prepping his weapons this might put him in the right mood: Turkey Whisperer!
I'm told this short vid is an exact metaphor of Trump tweets' impact on reporters ... spoiler: safe for work/children. No turkey is harmed.

I have never seen the play Mariato just made to score for Titans. He ran left threw a pass into the endzone that was blocked right back to him where he caught it and ran in for a TD. You have to see it to believe it.

Amazing, plus it puts the Titans back in a game they were losing big time.

"Look, I am glad when I read that there are companies that have given out thousand dollar bonuses," Warren replied. "There are companies that say they're going to rework some of their benefit plans; there are companies that cut rates: I’m in favor of all that. I want to see working families do better, you bet."

But...

"Let's keep in mind, the giveaway was $1.4 trillion, and it was given directly to the biggest corporations and the billionaires in this country," Warren said.

Playing catch up, having gone down to Philly for our annual meetings. Had lunch with an old friend who quoted a mutual acquaintance, a successful trader on Wall Street, which I paraphrase as follows: "I've been talking to CEOs at US companies who say the atmosphere this past year versus under Obama is like night and day. Under Obama they were getting besieged every week with letters ordering them to comply with this or that new regulation. Since January 2017, it just stopped. Complete silence. They can actually just go about running their businesses."

Dow 36,000 anyone?

And my friend who was a vocal NeverTrumper, said: "I have to tell you, this last year has been better than I ever could have expected."

And if that excerpt on Reddit of the Wolff book is legit, I almost think Wolff is going to announce that the whole thing is a spoof. The gorilla stations thing sounds tame and plausible compared to what's in the book.

Also, being a grammar scold, I couldn't help noticing how badly it's written. Like this: "... Mr. Manafort's passing mention of a woman in a white muumuu whom had been in attendance."

C'mon, this guy is a professional writer and he makes clunkers like that? If he doesn't fess up that the whole thing was a joke, I'm going to be sorry I ever said anything positive about him.

Dow 36,000 would be the greatest creation of wealth ever in this country and every 401K, trust and thrift funds would explode. But where to you get the people to fill the skilled positions created? Robots or Humans?

What blizzard in Florida? Except for Live Oak, JAX and a few other hamlets, no snow fell much less a blizzard. Cold? Hell, yeah. Still is but were playing golf, walking the beaches and for me, swimming in the pool (although it will cost my FPL bill).

On January 3, 2018, Tallahassee, Florida received a staggering 0.1" of snow. It was the first snow in the Capitol City of Florida in 28 years. We must never forget. And it will be impossible to forget with this commemorative t-shirt. Proceeds will be donated to a local charity to help people get safe when it gets really cold in a traditionally warm place.
The last possible second to buy this design is Jan 18, 2018 at 8:00 PM EST
$26

Men? You mean like this guy? [Met him once at Antioch during my undergrad days when I drove up to a reading out of curiosity:]

America I've given you all and now I'm nothing.
America two dollars and twentyseven cents January
17, 1956.
I can't stand my own mind.
America when will we end the human war?
Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb.
I don't feel good don't bother me.
I won't write my poem till I'm in my right mind.
America when will you be angelic?
When will you take off your clothes?
When will you look at yourself through the grave?
When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites?
America why are your libraries full of tears?
America when will you send your eggs to India?
I'm sick of your insane demands.
When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I
need with my good looks?
America after all it is you and I who are perfect not
the next world.
Your machinery is too much for me.
You made me want to be a saint.
There must be some other way to settle this argument.
Burroughs is in Tangiers I don't think he'll come back
it's sinister.

Great weekend at Camp David. After big wins on tax cuts, ObamaCare mandate repeal, and conservative judges, the President and Republicans in Congress are united like never before and delivering on our promise of greater prosperity, better jobs, & higher wages for all Americans.

The boys at windoze really outdid themselves with windows 10.
If you don't want an hour long startup every day or two through their constant updating of the ol Model T, even if you turn off and disable and make updates manual they still constantly pester you. Because it's no longer an OS it's a serrrrvicccce. Well lawdy frickin da.
A Yogo that went through a flood was more reliable...and it didn't pretend to be a serrrviccce.

Ginsberg, who else:) When I met him I was in AFROTC at UC, Crew cut, military bearing and polished shoes. He took one look at me and asked if I was a cop. LOL. Another guy with too many brains used in the wrong place. His pan-sexual partner, Peter Orlovsky was there with him putting a move on my buddy who was a curious as me about these beatniks.

Very interesting. Its where we ran into the Progressive Labor people who later ended up being the conduit for North Vietnamese propraganda here during the war.